Just to explain this reference, "Vanilla Ice" is/was a white rapper who
claimed to have been from a mean neighborhood. Apparently it was later
revealed that he was from a ritzy suburban area. My actual complaint, though,
is that he was turning out substandard, soulless music, subverting a style
which often has some value for his own strictly commercial gain, without
regard for what the form stands for to many people. He was also one of the
first "artists" (used very loosely) to get in trouble for sampling other
recordings and using other people's music without any credit or payment. The
point is that his "career" is a modern example of the the assimilation of that
which the dominant culture fears.
As far as Vanilla Ice being assimilated and destroyed, until someone brings me
his head and I can drink beer from his empty skull, I will consider Vanilla
Ice a Significant Cultural Enemy. (Thank you Dennis Leary... ;-)
Joe Murphy
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